This application claims the benefit of priority under U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/851,143 filed on Mar. 4, 2013 entitled CORNUS PLANT NAMED ‘MANDARIN JEWEL’ and for which the inventor now wishes to file this application with the name or denomination ‘MADI-II’.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of CORNUS kousa var. chinensis, commonly known as Chinese or Kousa Dogwood, which is grown as an ornamental tree for residential and commercial landscapes. The new cultivar is known botanically as Cornus kousa var. chinensis and will be referred hereinafter by the cultivar name ‘MADI-II’. The ‘MADI-II’ cultivar was selected in 2004 from a group of one thousand (1000) three year old Cornus kousa var. chinensis seedlings grown from open pollinated stock at Brotzman's Nursery, Inc., Madison, Ohio 44057 (41.8° N/81.06° W). Pollen parent is unknown and seed was collected from one of several large non-patented plants, none of which exhibited any of the distinct characteristics claimed by our invention. Specifically, the mother plants all produced fruit of an orange-red color, had dark green leaves which turned orange-red in autumn and exhibited a broad, spreading growth habit with dark brown twig tips. The plant being claimed, first came to our attention when it was noticed as having foliage and twigs much lighter in color than other plants of this species, including the seed source plants and the remaining seedlings within the same crop. Subsequently, this plant displayed yellow-orange autumn leaf color. First flowering occurred in 2008 and the resulting fruit were pumpkin-yellow in color, which defines the primary distinguishing trait of our new variety. Normally plants of this species have orange-red fruit. These combined characteristics suggest an apparent lack of naturally occurring anthocyanin pigments.
The ‘MADI-II’ variety is the only selection we are aware of that possesses these distinguishing traits. There is a plant bearing yellow fruit in Europe called Cornus kousa ‘Xanthocarpa’ (not patented). A thorough search of the literature suggests that this selection is currently not in the United States. The following selections of Chinese Dogwood, all of which produce reddish-orange fruit and reddish-orange autumn leaf color, are offered for comparison: ‘Losely’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 23,423 which produces bright yellow leaves in mid-summer, flushing red: ‘Madison’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 16,129 with inconsistent bright yellow leaves in mid-summer, flushing red; ‘Miss Satomi’ (‘Satomi’) (not patented) which produces red-pink flowers; ‘Temple Jewel’ (not patented) that produces new leaves with central yellow blotch, fading to green.
The ‘MADI-II’ variety was first asexually propagated by the inventor in 2006 at his nursery in Madison, Ohio. Asexual propagation was accomplished by field budding and grafting and has continued on an annual basis using the same techniques. Since that time, under careful observation, the distinguishing characteristics of ‘MADI-II’ have been determined stable and uniform and to reproduce true to type in successive generations of asexual propagation.